Her mother’s fingers gently stroked the top of Astrid’s head. “Why don’t I stay with her and the three of you talk? I’m fairly certain I know how that conversation will go, and you can fill me in later concerning anything else.”
With a nod from her father, Astrid knew her mother’s plan was going to happen. Jordan took Sofia from her so she could stand up, then handed the little girl back over once Astrid’s mother was situated.
Astrid leaned over and kissed her daughter’s head. “Have them come get us if anything changes.”
“I will.”
She turned and followed her father and Jordan as they left the room.
How on earth was she going to survive this without having a complete meltdown?
The hospital administrator’s office had been given to the family to use for anything they needed. Jordan sat on the couch and brushed sand from his slacks. Once most of it was gone, he sat with his arm around Astrid, and she leaned into him.
“It’s already being picked up, isn’t it?” she asked.
Her father sat in a chair at a right angle from them. “That something medical happened at the San Minorian Palace, but that’s it. They don’t know what, though speculation is that something happened to Sofia since we’re here. There are pictures of the rest of us getting here by car and walking inside. The sand on Jordan and Dare has drawn attention as well.”
“It’s going to be bad.” Astrid wasn’t asking a question.
“The police are going to make a statement. As a courtesy, I’ve already seen the text.” He glanced at his phone. “They’re going live now.” The king picked up the television remote and turned the TV on. The man who’d interviewed Astrid stood in front of a bank of microphones.
“Thank you for coming. I will read a short statement. I will not be taking questions at this time.” He looked at the podium in front of him. “At approximately 1400 hours, an emergency call was made from the San Minorian Palace. A female minor, aged twenty months, had been found unresponsive in the water on the private beach. A medical helicopter was dispatched along with a number of police officers. By the time the medical team arrived, the female minor was breathing on her own and was conscious. She, along with her mother and a member of the palace security team, were flown to Children’s Hospital on San Majoria. As would be done in any similar case, an investigation is underway to determine exactly how the child came to be where she was. The royal family, along with the family of Prince Jordan, were at the San Minorian palace at the time of the incident. They are cooperating fully with the investigation. That is all we have to say at this time.”
He turned and walked off, ignoring the shouted questions.
“Well, it’s clear it’s Sofia.” Astrid sighed. “What other twenty-month-old would it be? And why would palace security go if it wasn’t her, but a staff member’s child or something?”
“That’s a reasonable presumption.” Her father rested his forearms on his knees. “The reality is that there will always be questions. It would be worse if the outcome had been different, but it will be bad enough for a while. Almost anywhere you go, someone will ask questions, blame you both. To a lesser extent, the rest of us will get it as well, since we were there. Just ignore them. Once Sofia is home, and has been for a few days, continue with your lives as normal. Talk to the people who come to see you without giving those who criticize and accuse your attention. Be polite, but don’t get drawn into the debates.”
Jordan wasn’t sure he’d be able to do that, but he kept his thoughts to himself. If someone accused Astrid of trying to hurt Sofia, would he be able to walk away?
“With permission from both of you, I think we should start referring to Jordan as her father. We’ve not really said anything one way or the other, or referred to him as more than ‘future step-father’ perhaps in the lead up to the wedding. If anyone questions it, ignore the question or respond that Jordan would have already legally adopted her if he could.”
“I would have,” Jordan confirmed.
“At some point, we will probably need to sit down and do an interview or two about it all, but not for a while.”
Two quick raps sounded on the door before it opened. The head of her father’s security team poked his head in. “They’re asking for you in the princess’s room, ma’am.”
Astrid jumped to her feet before Jordan could offer to help her. They hurried to Sofia’s room. The doctor waited there. Jordan could almost feel the waves of panic flowing off Astrid. A now-wide awake Sofia reached for her mother immediately.
“Everything’s fine,” the doctor rushed to reassure them. “We’re moving her to a private room for observation. We’re going to watch her overnight, and then, if all goes well, look at sending her home tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” Astrid said for all of them.
“She’ll need some follow-up tests done later, and the neurologist will come see you tomorrow before you leave. Someone will be here in a few minutes to move her.”
They all thanked the doctor again. Astrid sat on the bed with Sofia in her lap.
“Are you both staying here tonight?” the king asked them.
Jordan shook his head. “I would love to, but I need to get back to the palace before bedtime. My medication is there.”
His father-in-law chuckled. “You do know we can have it brought here, right?”
Jordan glanced at Astrid, who didn’t seem to be paying any attention and lowered his voice. “I know, but honestly, I know my limits. After two nights sleeping on a plane, even a very comfortable one, and the adrenaline rush and everything today, I need a good night’s sleep. Knowing that she’s going to be okay, I think it would be better for me to sleep back home then come over tomorrow. I’ll be fresher, and it’ll let Astrid rest more tomorrow.”
“In that case, I think it’s a good plan. Just make sure she understands why, but that there’s no real potential impact to your health.”
“Something I haven’t told her yet, and I know we’re not supposed to talk about the interviews, but he asked if I was on medications. I had to tell the truth. We hadn’t planned on telling anyone about my transplant until the Women in Medicine thing coming up. I told him I was on medication, that it had no bearing on the case, and I would be happy to tell him off the record. If, later, they felt it relevant, they could talk to me again. I told him after the interview concluded, and he agreed he didn’t think it needed to be part of the official record. My fear is that, if the fact I told him off the record comes out soon, rumor will spread that it’s something awful that we just don’t want disclosed because it’s embarrassing. That might push up the time frame to tell everyone else.”
The king nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll discuss it with the chief.”
“I’ll talk to her after we get to the room and get settled.” He realized he didn’t have any form of transportation. “Unless you need me to go before then so the boat can get back here.”
The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of someone to transport Sofia. After hugs, the king and queen left. He told Jordan the boat would be at his disposal, and that Jordan’s family was still in the hospital talking to investigators.
A few minutes later, they were upstairs in a room, just the three of them, waiting on a nurse to come back in and get everything situated.
Astrid laid on the bed next to Sofia. Jordan reached out and brushed her hair back where it had fallen in her face. “Hey. I don’t want to leave, but I’m going to have to. As soon as I talk to my folks, Betsy, and Dare, I need to get back.” He explained why, emphasizing that he would be fine, just needed sleep, and then he could take over for her tomorrow.
She gave him a tired smile. “One of us should get a good night’s sleep. Go on. We’ll be fine.”
“Have someone call me immediately if something changes.” He leaned down and kissed her softly. “I love you both.”
“We love you, too.” Her smile turned to a bit of a smirk. “Happy birthday.”
&
nbsp; “Thanks. I may try out those skates when I get back. Just for a few minutes.”
Her smile vanished. “I wanted to be there.”
“Then I’ll wait.” He kissed her again. “I’m going to go find my family and see you in the morning.”
She pulled him back down for another, more searing kiss. “And one day soon, I’ll give you your other birthday present.”
31
Two days later, the words of the neurologist didn’t want to sink into her brain. “What’s the bottom line?” Astrid interrupted.
“She has an excellent chance of no long term neurological issues. She was pulled from the water quickly, never lost her pulse, was given CPR immediately, and started to breathe on her own quickly. That’s all part of a good prognosis, but there’s a chance she may have some learning delays or difficulties that may not be evident until she’s in school. However,” the doctor gave a reassuring smile, “I wouldn’t expect them to be the kinds of significant ones that are probably running through your mind right now. There tends to be two kinds of results from drowning. Those with severe, significant issues, and those who have none to slight. There is every expectation that Princess Sofia will fall into the latter category.”
Some of the stress seemed to bleed away. “How did you know?”
The doctor chuckled. “You’re not the first set of parents I’ve talked with.”
Astrid shared a look of relief with Jordan. “Thank you.”
“All that said, I’m certain you’ll have the very best care for her whenever she needs it. I’d be happy to take a look at her every so often or pass my notes on to a neurologist of your choosing.” She stood. “It was very nice to meet both of you. I’m glad the circumstances weren’t any worse, though I wish they could have been better.”
“Agreed.” Astrid shook her hand. “Thank you for all your help. We appreciate it.”
“My pleasure.” The doctor shook hands with Jordan then left the room.
“That’s got to be a huge relief.” Jordan sat back in the rocking chair.
Astrid wasn’t sure she agreed.
“Don’t go there.” The warning tone in his voice caused her to look up. “I know what you’re thinking. That she’s going to have severe mental damage and all of that. It’s just not true. Listen to what the doctor said, not what the freaking out part of you heard.”
“I know. It’s hard.”
“And like she said, we’ll have the best specialists in the country, or Canada, or the States, or Europe, or wherever we need to go for her. But whatever it is, we’ll go through it together.”
She had to voice her fears to her husband. “But if it’s bad enough, even if it’s not bad, it could remove her from the line of succession.” Astrid whispered the words, unable to speak them aloud.
Jordan just grinned. An odd response. “Then I’ll adopt her because it won’t matter.”
Astrid managed to give him a half-smile. “Do you always see the silver lining?”
“Sometimes you just have to, but I truly believe it won’t come to that.”
Gretchen, still distraught over the near miss, slipped in now that the doctor had left. “They’re ready for the two of you to make your statement downstairs.” Martina had come by earlier to help Astrid look more presentable.
Astrid sighed. “Let’s go.”
She and Jordan were escorted to a service elevator and then to the room used for press conferences. Astrid waited for the signal then walked out, Jordan behind her.
“Thank you all for being here. I will make a statement. I will not take any questions at this time.” She couldn’t handle it. “As you are aware, there was an incident on the beach at the San Minorian Palace two days ago. Though the name of the child involved has not been officially released by the police, the widespread speculation that the child was our daughter, Princess Sofia, is correct. I cannot comment on how she came to be on the beach unsupervised as that is still under investigation. My husband, the rest of my family, the rest of his family, and I have cooperated fully with police. We expect the investigation to show it was a series of unfortunate, nearly tragic, but ultimately innocent events that led to the situation. We look forward to completely clearing our names and those of our staff. Princess Sofia is doing well and will be released from the hospital shortly. We will be taking her home to finish her recuperation. Jordan and I will be resuming a limited schedule of engagements in the near future while we focus on taking care of our daughter. Thank you for your patience as law enforcement does their job, and for your prayers. We appreciate them more than you know. Thank you.”
She stepped away from the microphones and left the room, ignoring shouted questions, with Jordan a half step behind, his hand resting on her back. Though the corridors were clear, she waited until they reached Sofia’s room to relax a bit. Jordan held her in his arms and let her soak up his strength.
Before she was ready to let him go, a nurse, Astrid’s favorite from the last two days, walked in with a stack of papers. “Let’s get this little princess out of here.”
Her father had made arrangements for a helicopter to take them back to San Minoria. Once the paperwork was signed, Astrid settled into a wheelchair, Sofia in her arms. They were taken to a service elevator then up to the roof with Jordan beside them the whole way. The royal helicopter waited for them. In just a few minutes, they were on their way.
As they took off, Astrid could see a small crowd on the street. “Are they here for us?”
Jordan looked out his window. “I think so. I saw some when I got here, but I wasn’t close enough to really tell. I can’t imagine a crowd for any other reason though. If we want, we can check the news. I’m sure there’s coverage. Otherwise, ask Jade or Thomas to check.”
“That sounds like a better idea.” She wasn’t ready to see what some of the commentators or royal haters were saying. She’d probably said it enough to herself already.
It wasn’t true. On one level, she knew that. On another, it didn’t matter. Mental self-flagellation didn’t care if it was true or not.
Now that her daughter was headed home, and she would be out of the sometimes chaotic hospital environment, maybe she could find the peace she desperately needed. Some quiet time in the chapel would be good as would a good night’s sleep, though Astrid wasn’t sure she’d be able to get that. Measures had been taken to ensure Sofia wouldn’t be able to climb out of her crib again - she did know that was how her little girl had escaped her bed. It wasn’t the most elegant, but a net over the top would keep her in place.
As much as she longed to make sure Jordan knew all was right in their world, Astrid was pretty sure she’d be sleeping in Sofia’s nursery at least for a few days. She prayed he’d understand.
It was time to get back to some semblance of normalcy, but Jordan found it hard to do. They’d been home for days, but Astrid still slept in Sofia’s room - something Jordan completely understood. He’d thought about moving the crib into the room he was supposed to share with his wife just to make it easier on both of them. In fact, he still might suggest it for a few weeks.
Beyond that, Astrid seemed to be having difficulty sleeping as did Sofia, though Jordan hadn’t seen it himself. Astrid said she’d been waking up crying every night since the incident. He wondered if there was much a therapist could do to help a twenty-month-old process the trauma. He guessed not, but he’d find out.
Sofia’s personality had also changed. Instead of the happy, playful little girl he’d fallen in love with, she’d become much quieter and clingy. Also to be expected, probably, but he hoped she’d find her way back to the carefree child she should be. She refused to let go of her turtle or moose most of the time.
His cell phone rang, even though he was in his office. He didn’t check to see who it was before answering. “Jordan.”
“You answer your phone with your name now?” Betsy’s teasing lightened his spirits immediately.
“Please tell me you’re not in your bedroom
.”
Dare’s laugh joined Betsy’s. “We are,” his friend said. “But only because then we could tell you we were, and it would annoy you.”
“We wanted to check on all of you,” Betsy told him. “How’s everything?”
“Good. Mostly. There’s aftereffects, obviously, but it could have been so much worse.” He didn’t tell Dare that Astrid wanted to see him knighted for service to the Crown or something to that effect. Once the police investigation was officially closed and cleared all of them, she’d make it happen.
“Agreed. We want to come back down sometime soon,” Dare said. “Can you let us know when would be good? Mom and Dad want to come, too, of course.”
“Mom and Dad? Since when do you call them that?” It didn’t bother Jordan, but he hadn’t heard it before.
Dare just laughed. “They said I could. It kind of came naturally.”
Jordan turned and stared at the sliver of ocean he could see out his office window. “Bets, can I talk to Dare for a minute?”
“Sure. Love you, brother.”
“Love you, too.” A minute later, it was just his best friend on the phone. “How did you know?” Jordan asked.
“Know what?”
“Know to follow me like that? To go left when I went right?”
“How long have we known each other?” Dare’s stern tone surprised Jordan.
“First grade.”
Crowns & Courtships Compilation Volume 1 Page 23